Ole Kirk Christiansen is a carpenter who hails from Billund in Denmark. He began making wooden toys in 1932, but the company struggled during https://lego-x.com/2020/02/05/lego-stores-use-virtual-data-rooms the Great Depression. Christiansen changed the name of his business to “Lego,” a contraction of the Danish words leg godt, which means “play well.”

In 1934 Lego adopted plastic bricks for production and the first sets were introduced to the market. The company also created an entirely new division, Dakta which would concentrate on education-related products.

In the last quarter of the 20th century Lego continued to expand its product range and marketing efforts. In 1971, Lego introduced dollhouses, furniture pieces, and in 1974 first Lego human figures. They later evolved into the minifigure style that is in use today. Lego also started to produce more advanced building sets geared toward older children that would transform into Lego Technic.

Lego introduced the World Cup Lego Building Contest in 1987, inviting kids to take part. The event took place in Billund, and 38 children from 17 countries took part. The same year, Lego also began to create themed sets that were thought of as systems within an overall system, such as Lego Space, Lego Castle, Lego Town (later renamed Lego City), and Lego FabuLand. Lego also went beyond its standard smiley-faced characters for the first time in 1988, with a line of pirate Lego figures with a variety of different expressions and facial features.

In 1999, Lego changed the way it licensed characters from franchises. It began offering Lego versions of the most popular characters such as Spider-Man and Star Wars. Harry Potter, Avatar: The Last Airbender and many more. Fans and critics reacted differently to this new development.